[Click eStock] "Wonik IPS Expected to Turn Operating Profit Positive in Second Half... 'Target Price Maintained'"

Kiwoom Securities forecasted on the 30th that Wonik IPS will achieve an operating profit turnaround in the second half of the year. The investment opinion 'Buy' and the target stock price of 43,000 KRW were maintained.

Park Yu-ak, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, stated, "The expected performance for the second quarter is an operating loss of 17.8 billion KRW, which is better than initially feared," and added, "The semiconductor segment's performance is expected to be strong as Samsung Electronics' 9th generation V-NAND and SK Hynix's DRAM process transitions proceed."

Park further predicted that the operating profit in the third quarter will reach 14.4 billion KRW, marking a return to profitability after seven quarters. He said, "There will be positive effects such as the recovery of memory equipment sales to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and increased equipment supply to new customers in the Greater China region," and added, "Since Samsung Electronics, a major client, has started investing in front-end equipment for the Pyeongtaek Plant 4, the fourth quarter performance is also expected to show additional recovery." He also noted, "Especially in the second half of this year, the supply of new equipment such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment for DRAM and NAND, and high bandwidth memory (HBM) equipment will become visible, marking the beginning of a mid- to long-term structural improvement."